The taste and the name of the rose

June is just the right time for the rose harvest. The fascinating smell of roses has captivated people throughout the ages and the aroma and taste of roses always has a special place in the kitchen. The name of the rose, as well as its taste, has found its place in literature and has been the subject of novels and poems. When June comes, it's time to take a journey into the magical world of the rose! Many poems refer to the short life of roses:

"Early one morning, the rose bloomed and blossomed like no other,

The rose bent and told all to the dawn breeze.

Look at this unfairness only lasting ten days.

The rose both bloomed and blossomed and then withered and faded!"

It is truly unfair for such a beauty to be so short lived. Though the fragrance of the rose is enchanting, as in these lines by Omar Khayyam, the life of the rose ends quickly.

"Look! what the blooming rose is
saying laughing - I bloom for a day
And once my silken petals wither
Into the garden dump they throw me away."

Bloom for a day and gone the next day. Maybe that is why mankind has always tried to encapsulate the smell of roses, to extract the essence of the rose and make its scent eternal. In the past, there used to be alembics to extract rose water and oil in the Halvahane in Topkapı Palace, and rose petals were collected with the first light of the day during the rose season and sent to the alembics. The name of Gülhane park at the foot of Topkapı palace comes from the rose gardens created for this purpose.

In many cultures, the rose is considered the king and queen of flowers; in fact, in Persian, the word rose is used as an...